Watch-case



. (Model.)

G. C. SMITH.

WATCH CASE.

No. 371,282. Patented' Oct. 11,1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

GEORGE C. SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WATCH-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,282, dated October11, 1887.

Application tiled May 19, 1884. Serial No. 131,956. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing in Ohicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Watch-Cases, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to watch cases in.

'extended frictional bearing between the tWo members, the extent ofbearing-surface being proportional to thelength of screW-thread,andhence in the event of either the bezel or the back being screwed downand wedged tight upon the center considerable difficulty will frequentlybe experienced in unscrewing and detaching the said members. While thisdefect could, to some extent, be remedied by providing the center withone or-more short female screw-threads and providing the bezel or theback with one or more short male screw-threads or projections, yet suchresult would beattained at the expense of security in the connectionbetween the said parts, it being evident that while thebezel or the backcould in such instance be tightened upon or detached from the casequickly and by a slight partial rotation of either member, yet thelimited bearing-surface would hardly be sufficient to prevent thedetachable members from becoming accidentally detached or loosened,since the security of the connection between the detachable members andthe center is dependent upon frictional contact, which is increased byreason of a binding force exerted in a direction perpendicular to theplane of the case, and consequently parallel with the opposing an Anularwalls or sides of the detachable members and of the neck or iiange onthe center.

It is the object of my invention to provide a simple and effectivetemporary or detachable connection between a bezel or a back and awatch-case center or body, which connection shall combine al1 of theadvantages and avoid all of the disadvantages heretofore incident to 5 5the said long and short screw-threaded connection between said members.To such end I provide the center with one or more short inclined groovesor depressions adapted to receive one or more pins or projections on the6o back or bezel of both, which said grooves are formed to act as camsor wedges in the planes at right angles to each other, whereby, byapplying the bezel or the back so as to cause its pins to enter thegrooves in the center and then givinga partial rotation to either one ofthe said members, the pins or projections will in traversing the groovesdraw the bezel or back down upon the center and cause a binding force tobe exerted in planes at right an- 7o gles to each otherone at rightangles or perpendicular to the plane of either the back or face sideofthe case and the other in a line par-- allel to either of saidplanes-which said forces will increase in proportion to the extent towhich the pins traverse the grooves.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view'of the inner side of a bezelprovided with pins adapted to enter the grooves or depressions in thecase. Fig. 2 is aface view of a watch-case made in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the bezel, the center, and the backdetached from one another. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail showing aportion of the center and more clearly illustrating one of the groovesor depressionsI therein. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken through onewall of the case with the back and bezel applied. Fig. 6 is a sectionaldetail taken on a plane parallel with the face of the case and on a lineindicated by the dotted line a: x, Fig. 4.

Referring by letter to the several iigures of the annexed drawings, inwhich like letters denote like parts, A indicates the body or center ofa watch-ease which can be adapted either for an open-faced or ahunting-case watch, as may be desired. In the present illustration thebezel B and the back O are both adapted to be detachably connected withthe center; and to such end the center is provided at each side with aneck or annular flange, a, in which are formed the grooves ordepressions for receiving the pins or projections on the detachablebezel and back.

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'ach one of' the grooves or depressions D is formed in the outer side ofone ofthe annular anges a of the center and inclines from the base tothe edge ofthe flange, at which latter point the groove terminates in anotch, D', constituting an entrance to the inclined portion of thegroove, and hence forming a part of the same. Under this arrangement thegroove runs at an angle to the plane of either side of the case, and isinclined with relation to an annular seat, c, formed at the base of theilange, upon which said seat either the bezel or the back, as the casemay be, can be drawn and seated after the pin on the back or bezel hasbeen fitted in the groove and the said member turned to the requiredextent upon the center.

The groove or depression is made deepest at its end in the edge of theflange where the pin enters, and from this point,which may be called itsouter end, thcgroove grows gradually shallower or decreases in depth asit approaches the annular seat or middle portion of the body of thecase, whereby the groove is finally lost at its inner end. In this Waythe back wall, d, of the groove will be eccentric to the annular wall cof' the flange or neck, or to the circumference ot' the watch-case. Thecenter can be provided with one or more of these grooves for acorresponding number of pins, E, on the bezel, and with one or more likegrooves for a like number of pins on the removable back, it beingpreferable, however, to provide two grooves and a corresponding numberof pins for cach one ot' said detachable members.

After the bezel or back is placed in such position on the center thatits pins shall enter the grooves through the notches or entrancesconstitutinglateral continuations of the deeper end portions ot thegrooves, the back or bezel can be secured upon the center by holding onemember and giving a partial rotation to the other, during whichoperation, supposing the center to be held stationary and the movablemember to be turned, the pin traversing the grooves or depressions will,in approaching the annular seat a, draw the moving member down upon thesaid seat, while at the same time the pins, in approaching the shallowerportions ofthe grooves or depressions,will bind against the back wall ofthe latter with a force increasing in proportion to the extent to whichthe movable member is turned upon the center, and in a directionparallel with the plane .of the center or face of' the watch and atright angles to the wall of' the annular fiange or neck about which themovable member is turning. In this way, with but a short groove, Iobtain a binding force in two directions, the one serving to bind on theannular seat, owing to the inclination of the groove with relation tothe latter, and the other serving to cause the outer end of the pins tobind against the back walls of the grooves or depressions, owing toeccentric relation which the said walls bear to the annular outer wallof' the flange or neck in which the said grooves or depressions areformed.

It will be understood that either the back or the bezel, or both, can bethus detachably connected with the case, and that the grooves could beformed in the back and bezel and the pins or projections arranged on thecase; hence I do not limit myself to the precise arrangement shown, butregard my invention as embodying either of' said arrangements.

In au application, Serial No. 114,031, I have shown cams or iiangesprojecting beyond the periphery of the rim of the center and a bezelprovided with lugs, which bezel and lugs engage with said cains to lockthe center and bezel, and I therefore make no claims to the aforesaidconstruction in this application.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is*

l. rlhe combination, in awatch-case, ofa detachable member thereofremovably secured in position by a connection consisting of one or moreprojections on one of' the parts and one or more grooves or depressionsformed in the remaining part of the case and adapted to receive the saidprojections, which groove or grooves are inclined with relation totheplanes of either the front or rear sides of the case and formed withtheir back walls eccentric to the circumference of the latter, wherebysaid detachablemember is simultaneously tightened on both the seat andlaterally on the ilange or riser, substantially as described.

2. Ihe combinatiomin a watch-case, of a detachable member thereofremovably secured in position by a connection consisting of one or moreprojections on one of the parts and one or more grooves or depressionsformed in the remaining member and adapted to receive the saidprojections, these grooves being inclined with respect to the planes ofeither the front or rear, of' a graduallydecreasing depth from thepoints at which the pins enter the grooves when the parts are fittedtogether, substantialily as described.

3. A watch-case center having at one or both of its sides an annularflange provided with one or more inclined grooves or depressionscommencing at the edge of' the flange and decreasing in depth as theyapproach the base of the latter, in combination with a detachable backor bezel provided with a projection or projections adapted to enter thegroove or grooves in the flange, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

4. A watch case center provided with a grooved flange, in combinationwith a detachable back or bezel having a projection adapted to enter thegroove in the flange ofthe center,

said groove being formed and arranged so that when the back or bezel isturned on the center with the pin received in the groove the walls ofthe latter shall cause a binding force to be exerted between saidmembers in two direc IOO IIO

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tions, one parallel with and the other at right or both, provided withone or more pins angles to the plane of either the back or face adaptedto enter said groove, substantially as 1ov side of the case,substantially as set forth. set forth.

5. Awateh-case center provided at one or 5 both sides with an annularseat, a', a flange GEO' C' SMITH' rising from said seat, and an inclinedgroove, Witnesses: D, formed in said flange, substantially as de- WV. W.ELLIOTT, scribed, in combination with a back or bezel, CHAs. G. PAGE.

